


Crystalline

by Dance_Elle_Dance



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Coping, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-26
Updated: 2015-09-26
Packaged: 2018-04-23 13:00:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4877824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dance_Elle_Dance/pseuds/Dance_Elle_Dance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zuko likes watching her waterbend. It is one of the only things that soothes his raging mind. (Originally posted on 4/8/11.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Crystalline

**Author's Note:**

> Re-post of my first Avatar fanfiction. Please enjoy the Zutara goodness!

She's his.

The thought comes to him every now and then, unbidden, at random. It is never unwelcome, and if he were to voice this to her, he knows she wouldn't be pleased. She'd probably be rather angry with him for considering her as property. Nonetheless, the thought races through his mind, delighting him and frightening him at the same time. He'd be happy because she was his, and then he'd be frightened because he'd think, _what next?_ Almost as if he didn't know what to do with himself now that he finally had her, this woman that could so easily slide through his fingers at a moment's notice like the water she controls.

Zuko doesn't know when the thoughts start, but they pester him. Perfection - and the ways of attaining it - has always been one of his strange qualms. He'd often voice them to her, and she'd be calming, reassuring. Again, he had found himself comparing her to water.

Katara is many things - so many that if Zuko were to describe her right now it would take up most of the day. Maybe two.

One of the things that she is, however, is _calming._

She truly is. Sokka can attest to that. Aang as well. Even Toph and Suki. All her closest friends know the kind individual that lies beneath the exterior that reminds others of an ocean - unpredictable.

Zuko can recall many different times when he'd been stressed or worried or anything like that, and she'd approach him, coo soothing words into his ears. She was more than he'd ever deserved in his life, and he knew it. She didn't seem worried about that at all. She was now under the impression that they were equals, that they each deserved each other equally.

He wishes he could think like her.

He tries, but he fails.

That's when he resorts to his backup plan.

Though it is hard to rid himself of the thoughts that plague him, the times that he's betrayed his friends, hurt so many people - they still keep him up at night. His uncle would say that that means he is a good person, for a truly awful person would lose no sleep over it. But he just can't seem to get it through his head.

So, on nights when he doesn't sleep. On nights when he is kept awake by memories of a past life, he watches her bend.

Katara does this every night when she thinks he is asleep. She sneaks out into the darkness of night, into the back of the palace, and gathers around the small pond to bend. She has to practice, even in times of peace, he knows and does this himself every day, but watching her practice is a whole other experience.

It seems almost voyeuristic, the way he watches her, but he can't help himself as he leans onto the balcony that looks over the courtyard. He can't help himself, though, because the way she moves is so free, so fluid and graceful and unhindered by anything.

She steps into the pond, up to her ankles, and wades just until it swirls around her calves.

Most of the time, she doesn't practice her fighting techniques. Most nights, she just bends. Zuko enjoys watching this more than anything in the world, if only for the peace it brings him.

Katara's eyes flicker in the darkness - Zuko can see it even from his perch on the balcony, he knows her that well. He knows that bending is sometimes her only release from the stresses of the day. Though she lives a very stress-free life, it can be difficult living with him at times. Difficult dealing with ex-girlfriends and their friends. Difficult being away from the boy she once loved, her brother, and the loud earthbender. He feels guilty for it, but they were bound to go their separate ways some time or another, as callous as that sounds.

Her lips curve slightly as she raises her hands, bringing a line of water trailing them. She spins abruptly, lashing out with the vines of water, freezing them and throwing them into the air. She bends more water then, throwing the fluid so hard that it cracks the ice midair, and the shattered remnants rain around her, making her look like some unearthly ice princess.

Zuko is slightly shocked that she lashed out like that, but when her eyes glance up at him for a moment, he knows she's putting on a show just for him.

Katara then changes her stance from defensive to relaxed as she moves to sit on the edge of the pond, and starts making small movements with her hands, minutely moving the water bit by bit in whirling circles, slight waves, and sculptures. She never fails to amaze him with her natural talent.

Just by watching her, he feels a weight that he didn't know was there lift from his chest. Seeing something so pure and beautiful makes him think that there can be nothing wrong in the world, though his rational mind knows better - he used to be what was wrong with it, of course - but he pushes the logical thoughts away and only focuses on the moment.

She freezes the whole pond, makes pointed sculptures with the ice, and the melts it. The water rushes around her, but she knows her element better than anything else, so she keeps dry.

It could be minutes, hours, that he watches her, but the lighting never changes in the sky. The sun never rises, so he thinks it must be less than that when she looks up to him, blue eyes beckoning. Katara raises a hand, inadvertently causing a slight wave to rise as she does so, and waves him over. He sees her mouth form his name, though he can't hear it, all he can focus on is her. She wants him to join her.

Zuko can't help but oblige.


End file.
